Madeline's Rescue
Madeline's Rescue is a book by Ludwig Bemelmans, the second in the Madeline series. Released by Viking Press, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1954.American Library Association: Caldecott Medal Winners, 1938 - Present. URL accessed 27 May 2009. Plot The story of Madeline and her friends continues as we return to Paris. One day as the class is crossing a footbridge over the River Seine, Madeline attempts her classic balancing act on the rampart, knowing it will frighten Ms. Clavel. However, she slips and tumbles over the side into the river! Everyone on the bridge and banks panics as Madeline does not know how to swim. Police officers and boats on the scene try to toss life preservers to her, but to no avail. Madeline is starting to drift away in the current and is at risk of drowning. Fortunately, a passing stray dog sees the scene and leaps into the Seine. She paddles over to Madeline and drags her back to the river bank where Ms. Clavel and the Girls have rushed to. Ms. Clavel picks up a shaken, drenched Madeline to comfort her (while one of the girls carries Madeline's hat) and the class heads home. The dog follows them. Back at the boarding school Ms. Clavel and the Girls tend to Madeline and the dog. They give Madeline a warm bath and dry her off as Ms. Clavel scolds her about following safety instructions, demanding she never toy with death again. When Madeline is put to bed to rest, Ms. Clavel kindly gives her a cup of tea, knowing Madeline needs comfort to get passed the mental trauma of nearly drowning. By now, the dog has crawled into Madeline's bed. That night after Ms. Clavel has put everyone to sleep, the other Girls have grown jealous of Madeline for being close to the dog. There's a harsh pillowfight between all of them over where the dog should sleep which is not resolved on paper. As the dog stays at the school, she demonstrates she's a gracious house guest. She helps out in class, demonstrating that she is intelligent and resourceful. The girls regularly feed her biscuits, milk and beef and decide to call her Genevieve. Genevieve can also sing when Madeline plays the piano and she accompanies the Girls on their daily walks. Genevieve stays for the winter as the house is warm and dry. May 1st rolls around which makes everyone nervous. The school is governed by a board of trustee donors who come by in intervals to make sure everything is proper. The Girls clean up and make themselves presentable. Madeline even puts a bow on Genevieve, hoping the board will like her. The trustees arrive in a fancy limo. They're clearly from Paris' socio-economic elite with little interest in childish things. The inspection of the school is very thorough. The Girls nervously stand at attention by their made beds as the trustees check the bedroom. They then see Genevieve hiding under Madeline's bed. This greatly irritates them as there is a rule that pets are not allowed at the school. The President of the Board, dubbed Lord Cucuface by the Girls, demands Ms. Clavel expel Genevieve immidiately as the Girls gather around the scared dog. Ms. Clavel delicately pleads with Cucuface to allow Genevieve to say, stating that the Girls love her. Lord Cucuface is unmoved by the request and scoffs at the dog. He takes the insults a step further, saying it's improper for the students to adopt a mixed breed dog like Genevieve. He then harshly shoos her out the front door, telling her to never come back. As the trustees leave, a distraught, but defiant Madeline jumps on a chair and warns Cucuface that there will be consequences for casting away Genevieve. By now all the Girls are crying, sad to see Genevieve leave. Ms. Clavel calms her down and suggests to the Girls that they go out and find Genevieve. The Girls spend the whole day searching through all of Paris, from Montmartre to Les Halles. They search everywhere for Genevieve, but she is not in any store, park or graveyard. The police officers have not seen her either. By the evening, the class returns to the school empty handed and broken hearted. That evening, after everyone else has gone to bed, Madeline remains awake mourning. She goes to the window, looking out into Paris and hopelessly begs for Genevieve to return. Late at night, Ms. Clavel wakes up, sensing something is wrong. She gets dressed, rushes downstairs and opens the front door. There in the light of the streetlamp is Genevieve! She is tired, but lost no more. The Girls wake up and see this from the window and immidiately rush downstairs to reunite with their dog. Ms. Clavel wakes Mrs. Murphy who cooks a meal for Genevieve. Soon everyone goes back to bed. As soon as Ms. Clavel leaves, the Girls become vindictive towards each other and again fight over where Genevieve will sleep. This wakes Ms. Clavel again who rushes to the bedroom, afraid of a disaster. By the time she's gotten there, the twelve-way fight has gotten violent. Ms. Clavel quickly defuses it by announcing that should there be another fight over Genevieve, she will be given away. The Girls immidiately go quiet, not wanting to lose Genevieve again. Ms. Clavel leaves, satisfied that the commotion is over. Yet later that night, Madeline again awakens Ms. Clavel by candlelight telling her about a new development with Genevieve. By now Ms. Clavel is exhausted and really doesn't know what to expect. She's utterly shocked when she comes into the bedroom and discovers that Genevieve has given birth to a litter of puppies! There's one for every girl so the fighting has now stopped. Now every time the class leaves the old house, they are joined by a procession of dogs with Genevieve in the lead. Differences between the book and the special * Doctor Cohn does not appear in the book, but in the special he tells Madeline to go home and rest. * In the book, when Miss Clavel and the girls go looking for Genevieve, the gendarme tells them that they have never seen a dog like Genevieve, but in the special, they visit the pound where Genevieve could not be found. * In the book, Lord Cucuface does not appear in the end, but in the end of the special, he gets mad at Miss Clavel for disobeying his direct orders, but controls his temper and shows kindness when Madeline lets him keep one of Genevieve's puppies. Trivia * A riverside painter is seen reacting in panic to Madeline falling into the Seine. He is perhaps the author Ludwig Bemelmans appearing in his own book. * Madeline ironically stands beneath two French flags when she declares war on Lord Cucuface, perhaps channeling France's undying spirit of defiance against injustice. * During the search for Genevieve, the Girls visit the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. The Tomb of Oscar Wilde (a famous 19th Century Irish poet and playwright) is seen in the background. * The second fight between the Girls becomes SIGNIFICANTLY more violent than seen in other media. They are seen beating each other with dolls, swinging brooms and umbrellas at each other, throwing pots of water, tugging on each other, one of the girls even has another in a chokehold! By the time Ms. Clavel intervenes, two of the girls are on the ground crying and more look very mad. References Category:Books Category:Episodes